Owner	Pose
Cael Becker	Cael ran as far and as fast as she could, Bear easily keeping pace, until exhaustion finally forces her to rest. She leans up against a building - gasping for breath and pulling out her phone in shaking hands. It takes her a few moments to get out the three brief tests - detailing her failure, Michael's warning, and her destination. She stares at her phone for a moment - then powers it off, slipping it into her pocket so she can continue her journey, this time at a much slower pace.     It's late morning when Cael returns to the Triskelion, after hitching a ride from the SHIELD blockade on the Willis Ave Bridge leaving Manhattan. She was silent for the ride, Bear sitting partway in her lap as she strokes the dog in silence, and she makes her way through the Triskelion to her living quarters without speaking to anyone. She managed to keep her features a smooth, featureless mask until the door was closed and locked behind her - at which point the tears return, streaking silently down her cheeks.     She wants a drink - desperately - but she knows better than to even try. Instead, she retreats to her bedroom - locking this door as well, and crawling onto her bed. Bear jumps up with her, nuzzling blankets at Cael, and getting them both settled into - letting her hug tightly to him, crying, while he cranes his head around periodically to make quiet whining sounds, and lick at her hair, and neck. That's where the pair remains - with Cael seemingly having no designs on moving anytime soon - or on turning her phone back on.
Jonathan Sims	When Jon got the messages from Cael, he was in the middle of putting up wards against the archangels on Grand Central Station. He's hoping that the protection against them will extend to the battalions they command; weakening the angels with Michael's blood worked that way, after all, and this spell has petals from both Raphael and Gabriel included along with drops of Michael's blood and Gaea's power infused through Jon's own blood. If that ward can't hold, then Jon will give up ever trying to ward anything ever again.     He can't really /stop/ partway through, though, and so after he fires off responses and gets no answer, he uses the surging anger he feels at Michael to fuel the final amulet--the one with Michael's name written in Akkadian in silver Sharpie on it--and then the conclusion of the entire spell, sealing the larger bag into which he's placed all the amulets, casting the protective ward like a blanket across Grand Central Station and the Hyatt next door, then inverting the whole thing to make it invisible. He hides the bag under a piece of the ventwork and covers it in a veil, hoping in that way to trick the angels. After all, Zatanna's wards were bright and glowing. If those fail, and the angels think Grand Central is wide open? They're liable to get a nasty surprise.     Then he speeds his floating platform back down into the Main Concourse and accosts the nearest teleporter to give him a portal to the Triskelion. So Cael hasn't been curled up in that bed very long before Jon's pounding on the door, voice a little frantic.     "Cael? Cael, love, are you alright? Lord, please, at least turn your phone on..."
Cael Becker	The door slides open, show - to Jon's eyes, at least - a teenaged girl on the other side, her expression worried, and a little frustrated. Without even bothering to speak to Jon, she turns - walking straight through Cael's bedroom door, which likewise opens a moment later, allowing Jon access, to where Cael lies in her bed, arms still hugging tightly to her pup. She doesn't attempt to speak, or to even look up at the sound of the door opening. She remains fully clothed - from her warm, winter coat to her heavy black boots - the blankets a bunched up mess around her lower half, there Bear had nudged them.
Jonathan Sims	"Thank you, Alis. How long's she been here? Do you know what happened?" Jon asks all this half-breathlessly, as he runs through the rooms after the ghost and sits down on Cael's bed. He immediately starts looking her over with the Sight, reaches out to check her pulse and temperature, his own heart hammering.     "Are you okay?" he asks softly, frowning down at Cael. "What'd he do to you? Did he hurt you?" His voice quavers, and he has to consciously hold his emotional aura in so the rage that flashes through him at the thought doesn't pour out into Cael. She doesn't need that, right now.
Cael Becker	"She was doing alright - I mean she wasn't getting anywhere, but she was doing alright - until assface did this thing it was like... he got all loomy and sinister for a second and then she- well. She couldn't deal with that," the teen answers. Jon can easily hear Alis's voice - but Cael hears none of the explination, since she remained completely incapable of seeing or hearing her sister until Alis //wished// it.     Cael flinches, and shy's away from the unexpected touch to her throat, her breath catching momentarily. She doesn't look up towards him, instead she seems to pull her legs up towards Bear, curling in on herself, as much as she can while still clinging to the dog.     "Nothing," she answers between uneven breaths. "He didn't- so anything." She lets out a breathy, humorless laugh before adding, "I'm just a mess."
Jonathan Sims	Jon relaxes, just a little. Just looming. Just fear. No telepathy, no physical harm. No need to go charging down to St. Patrick's and call Michael out on the carpet for hurting his girlfriend. He can focus on helping her get better, and set all that anger aside. For the moment.     "Do you want to tell me what happened?" His voice is more even now, more steady. "And... do you mind if I hold you or... do you just need Bear, right now?" He makes that sound as non-judgemental as he can. Whatever she needs, that's what he'll do, at the moment.     He glances aside at Alis. "She took her meds, right?" He bites his lip, thoughtfully. "Could you bring her some cocoa, maybe?" Instead of coffee with whiskey, though... he seriously considered that, for a moment.
Cael Becker	Alis nods immediately to the first question, "A dose 'n a half, on top of the daily," she says immediately. Then nods again to the second question, before turning and running off. She doesn't bother with going to make cocoa - she heads straight to the cafeteria to grab some - moving through walls and floors with ease on the most direct route possible.     Cael is less responsive, as she struggles with roiling thoughts and emotions, and tries to get her breathing undercontrol. Fear of what was coming. Fear of losing Jon. Fearing of being unable to cope with that lost, or of being too weak to help Jon. Anger at Michael. Anger at herself - for failing for Jon. For dragging him away from his work again. For worrying him - again.     He would leave her. She'd push him away, or he'd decide she was too much work - too much of a mess...     If he even survives everything that's yet to come. If he's even himself on the otherside of it all.     Helplessly, all she can offer in response is a shake of her head - which likely isn't actually an answer to any of his questions.
Jonathan Sims	"Oh good lord," Jon whispers. /That/ amount of medicine, and she's still... like this? Something in his heart constricts, and he has to push back that anger again. Later. He can be angry later. Right now, Cael needs him.     He only hesitates another moment before he leans down to gather Cael in his arms, pulling her in close. "I'm sorry," he whispers. "I'm so sorry for... for all of this. For putting you in this position. For..." For keeping his word? He shakes his head and just holds her tighter.     "I'm not going to let him hurt you," he says finally. "And he can take his 'nowhere will be safe' and shove it. If he wants to come for my people, he'll find that Gaea does /not/ appreciate what he's doing to Her children, and neither do I."
Cael Becker	Sandwiched between Bear and Jon, there should be no safer place in the world for her. Honestly, there likely is no safer place - and the reassuring weight from both sides, and the familiar scents, begin to smooth the edge off the worst of her panic. After several long moments, her face which had been pressed into Bear's side lifts up, so she can tilt her head back towards Jon instead - while Bear graces him with a few licks, perhaps out of appreciation for his help with his 'purpose.'     "I hate him," she finally offers quietly.
Jonathan Sims	Jon splutters a little at the licking, though it's good-natured spluttering. "Yes, yes," he murmurs, pulls off his glasses and sets them aside so they won't get licked. "Good boy."     He sighs, then, and presses a kiss to Cael's hair before resting his head atop hers. "I know, love," he says softly. "I do too. I had a long talk with Donna Troy just before you texted me, and... I think hating him might not be the best way to go about this." He laughs without much humor. "But... I can't help it. He hurt you, and I can't forgive him for that. He's going to hurt me, and I doubt I'll be able to forgive him that, either." He sighs.     "What do you need? What can I do? And... what did you mean, nowhere will be safe?"
Cael Becker	"He's so powerful, Jon. We're... ants. Less than ants. We're... all of us. We're nothing. Nothing," Cael breathes softly.     Of course Jon needs to know. Of course she needs to tell him what she heard, and what she learned, no matter how painful that might be. She takes a deep breath in, letting it out. She does this again - only this time it brings the rich scent of cocoa with mint, as Alis appears with a cup in her hand. "I put mint ice cream in," she says helpfully, simply holding the hot chocolate - since Cael makes no attempt to reach for it.     "Thanks... Alis," Cael murmurs quietly.     "He, uh- said you should prepare. That- that which you think is safe'll be vulnerable. That there'll be nowhere in New York City safe for you, or 'your Resistance.' So... I assume he's coming after the station. And if he wants in..." She doesn't think there's a power on Earth that could keep him out.
Jonathan Sims	Jon pulls Cael closer until she moves to take the cocoa, and in the meantime he just... holds her. "He probably means the wards failing," he says thoughtfully. "I don't know why he'd think I hadn't noticed, unless he really is just underestimating us." He sighs.     "I put up new wards," he says softly. "I infused them with the power of Gaea and the archangels both. Michael's blood, petals from both Raphael and Gabriel. Salt from the Dead Sea. It... if /anything/ will work, that will work. Alright?" A pause. "But... now we know he plans to attack. Now we can prepare." He strokes Cael's hair, gently. "That's something. That's intelligence we didn't have a few hours ago."
Cael Becker	"Yeah... sure... something," Cael murmurs in response. It feels like so little, though. So very, very little. "He wouldn't release you, Jon. I tried. I tried to convince him. I... tried to take your place. I asked what else he'd accept." She speaks in a soft voice, trying to keep her tone calm, and even, but she doesn't really succeed. There's an undercurrent that hints to the pain and panic that still lurks just beneach the surface, as she allows Jon to comfort and console her.     Shouldn't she be comforting him...?     "This is all his fault. He did all this. He caused all this pain. He won't even... fucking acknowledge it. He started this shit - he could stop it, and he won't." She fails to keep back a sob before she adds, "I fuckin' hate him."
Jonathan Sims	"I know you tried, love. I know. That's why you went." Jon closes his eyes. "What's /wrong/ with him? What happened to... to mercy...?" He sobs, and buries his face in Cael's hair again.     "We're going to stop him," he whispers. "Together. We're going to stop him. He's not going to hurt anyone else except us, okay?" His arms tighten around her. "I wish it wasn't 'us.' I wish it wasn't either of us. But we don't have to let it go any further. Maybe he started this, but we can /stop/ it, alright?"
Cael Becker	"I asked for mercy. Forgiveness. I- I tried to explain that- the only reason any of this happened was because of what he did - to me. To those other people. You wouldn't have- it was only because of what he did. But he thinks he has to- he says it won't heal until he hurts you - as if he hasn't fucking hurt you already. Said the pain was eternal or some shit - like the pain he- he forced on me is just fleeting. He said- he said what he did to me was the same sort of shit mortals do to each other all the time." Jon can feel the way she tenses in his arms, literally shaking from the pain, and the anger.     "He doesn't fucking understand," she says with a cold edge of anger to her voice. "He doesn't fucking understand what he did. He did this. He started this. I don't think we're even remotely even - and he wants to overbalance the scales even more, and call it just. I fuckin- I... I can't..."     Tears stream down her face again, as Bear squirms, trying to turn around to lick at her face, while she's turning it away from him.     "I didn't want it to be 'us,'" she whispers. It's so wrong... Why can't she make Michael see that?
Jonathan Sims	"I know," Jon says. "That's why I agreed to this, supported you talking to him. Because maybe he'd listen. Maybe he'd have mercy." He shakes his head. "Even if he's right, even if what he did to you is what mortals do to each other all the time... that doesn't make it /right/. He's supposed to... to bring /order/ to the world."     He sniffles. "I finally figured it out, you know? How to... how to see him, outside a Christian context. He should be a Pharoah. He should be Horus, or Ra, he should be... maintaining order, maintaining the cycle. He /forgot/ that."     He sighs. "He's broken, and I have to figure out how to fix him. And I'm so sorry that you're in the middle of this whole bloody thing."
Cael Becker	"He's decided torturing you makes him whole again. ...I'll never be whole again." Fucking asshole. "Apparently me showing up and rubbing his face in it all made him angry. Not- not 'cuz I pointed out what he was doing. Because it reminded him of what you'd done. Poor fucking baby. He's never really been hurt in his life and he's throwing a fucking tantrum," and they have to suffer for it.     "Cael, umm, the chocolate's gonna get cold," Alis finally prompts in a brief lull in the conversation.     Cael looks up towards her sister, and after a moment, starts to squirm herself into something more akin to a seated position - with Bear immediately relocating into her lap, as she takes the cocoa and wraps both hands around it.     "He's also apparently too fucking vain to talk around with a bloody wing," she mutters under her breath, before trying to take a small sip of the chocolate. She had to admit. ...it was pretty good. "...he also said torturing you was somehow going to make you into what you need to be to- I don't know, see you through everything. Like it would somehow make you stronger, like tempering a sword. I'd tried to argue that torturing the leader of the opposition in the middle of the game was fucking cheating, but he acts like he's doing you a God damned favor. How can it be both? His vengeance //and// a favor? The dude's fucked in the head, and he's basically the most powerful being in existence. If that's not scary... I don't know what is."
Jonathan Sims	Jon scoots around and blinks at Cael. "Actually," he says slowly, "that's... not /entirely/ off-base, that last bit. I might even be able to accept a... a trial, if that's all it was. Something like your Cave Quest, but more difficult, more painful. If I'm supposed to... change, through this, well..." He shrugs. "That is often the way of things. One is tested, tried. The pressure cracks you or you come out stronger on the other side. The thing is that dying and coming back is probably going to do that for me. But Michael doesn't know about that, of course."     He sighs. "But you're right... it isn't /just/ that. He's angry with me, I hurt him, and he... what, doesn't know how to handle it?" He shakes his head. "So, yes, he's throwing a tantrum. Seeking revenge. Like I said before... I'm going to stop it, with me. No revenge on him for what he does to me, no retaliation. The cycle stops with me."
Cael Becker	"I don't want you changed," Cael admits softly, leaning into Jon's presence without looking towards him, her eyes locked onto the cocoa. "Especially not by //him//." The thought terrifies her - and justifiably.     She takes a deep breath in, letting it out slowly and taking another sip of her cocoa. It isn't whiskey but- it'll do. She knows she can't turn to drink right now.     "I'm sorry I keep reacting like this. I know I'm just... hurting both of us. I want to be there for you. We have time together now, and I should be trying to enjoy it - because the future is always so uncertain, but- ...it's hard."
Jonathan Sims	"I'm /going/ to change, Cael," Jon says softly. "People always change. Will... will you still love me, if I come back different?" A pause. "You don't have to promise that. I just... I worry. But I swore to you I wouldn't let /him/ change me, and I won't. Not him, not that. Okay?"     He reaches out to tuck a piece of hair behind her ear. "I'm already broken, Cael. I was broken a long, long time ago. I'm honestly not certain what else Michael could do to me. I'm not exactly looking forward to finding out." He sighs. "But... I'll be okay, because I've been okay. I broke, and I healed, and I came back. Alright?"     He looks at her with a slight frown. "Do you... need to stay here? Instead of... instead of coming back with me?" His tone is soft, uncertain. He desperately wants her with him, but he's not going to push if she needs to stay away.
Cael Becker	Cael doesn't answer immediately, as she takes a few sips of her chocolate instead, tilting her head towards the touch of his hand. Her gaze remains downcast and grim, filled with pain - despite Jon and Bear's, and even Alis's efforts, but at least the worst of her panic was faded.     "I don't know, Jon. I know I love who you are. I know we all change. I know //I've// changed. You wouldn't have liked who I was eight years ago. Alis's death changed me." She looks up at friend briefly - giving her a small, sad smile, and turning her attention back to her cocoa. "What Michael did to me changed me. We all change. I love who you are now, and I have no intention of abandoning you when you need me," she offers.     Breathing in the scent of the cocoa she adds, "I don't know yet if I can go back to the Station tonight. I needed space. I needed... to get away from there. I needed- I wanted to fucking kill them all, but I went there under a flag of truce, with Bear beside me, and I wasn't going to- Is it ridiculous that I felt like I needed to leave the field, before I could return and... and make them pay?"     Alis offers no comment on this - not even when Cael comments on her death - instead she asks, "Hey, Jon. What's it mean when asswipe says... well. Says Cael's mind is no longer //habitable// by him? That was the word he used. 'Habitable.' That was why he didn't go in her head at all."     "Wait... what?" Cael asks with bafflement.     It seems someone wasn't really listening there for a moment.
Jonathan Sims	"You're wrong, Cael. I would've liked who you were back then just fine. I've seen it, remember? Maybe I wouldn't have fallen in love with you, but..." Jon sighs. "I love your fire and your determination, and those were always there."     He regards her quietly for a moment, then adds, "I need you now. But I won't push. It makes sense, though, what you felt. You needed a re-set, because you tried the last-ditch effort to end this without fighting, and now... you need to prepare to fight."     He glances at Alis, and says, "I would presume that Scathach's amulet is keeping Michael out of Cael's head. Protecting her from his influence."
Cael Becker	"Yeah, he knows me and he likes me well enough don't he? Shit, Cael," Alis remarks with a roll of her eyes, giving Jon a curious look as he comments on the amulet - before giving a shrug. Maybe he's right - how would she knew? "Well... I'll let you guys... whatever," she remarks, the spirit finally making her leave of the pair.     Cael takes another sip of her dwindling supply of cocoa, before finally turning her head to look towards Jon, studying his features with a sad, somehow reserved expression on her features. "I need you too, you know," she replies. "And I- I don't want to waste any time we could be spending together - but right now I'm not sure if I can return to the station tonight or not." Couldn't he take just one night away from the station? Just one? ...but she doesn't dare to ask it.
Jonathan Sims	Jon hesitates a moment, and then, with Alis firmly gone, leans in to kiss Cael very, /very/ firmly.     When he pulls back, he smiles. "I can't stay here all day," he says. "But I can give you the day off. I'm heading to the Titans Tower tomorrow anyway, and I've got to make plans to evacuate the civilians. There's been a lull in activity, and... things will be getting terribly hectic soon anyhow."     He reaches out to stroke a thumb across her cheek. "So... I can stay here tonight, with you, alright? It's probably the last chance for me to sleep in a real bed before the last push anyway. And before you argue about Martin... I /want/ to be with /you/, alright?" Sometimes being a telepath is very useful, such as when people don't dare ask for things.
Cael Becker	"...I wasn't going to argue," Cael breathes quietly. "I need you tonight," she admits, tears spilling down the cheek he'd just brushed, as she leans in for another kiss, before resting her head on his chest. She takes a deep breath in, and lets it out slowly and shakily before adding, "Thank you, Jon. You're good to me. I'm- I'm going to try to be less afraid. To believe we have the strength to get through this - together. I'm gonna try."
Jonathan Sims	Jon wraps his arms around Cael and holds her close to his chest. "I'd take the whole day off if I thought I could afford to," he says softly. "But we've got a battle to fight Saturday, and probably Sunday too, and meetings, and..." He snorts. "I really will need a vacation, when this whole business is over."     He runs a hand through her hair. "Thank you, for trying. It's okay if you can't. It's okay if you're terrified. Just remember that... Michael can't get into your head, okay? I'm certain that's what he meant. So long as you've got that pendant, he /can't/ take you over again."     A pause, as his hand stills in Cael's hair. "Which means he can't take /me/ over, either. He can hurt me, torture me... but he /can't/ control my mind. If that amulet protects you, my gods will protect me, and so will Gaea." He sounds... relieved. Maybe he was worried. Just a little.
Cael Becker	"I know you can't," Cael answers with acceptance - and not even a hint of bitterness or frustration. "But you need to sleep. ...and I need you near. I, uhhh... I might even have a rougher time sleeping tonight," she says in an apologetic tone.     Some of her humor finally returns as she gives Jon a nudge in the side, adding, "Though if you keep calling me 'Martin' in the night, I'm not sure how my self-esteem will survive the onslaught."     Her sobers before she adds, "You really think he can't get into our heads? Jon... the amulet showed me how powerful Raphael was - it was terrifying. I didn't dare try to see how powerful Michael was."
Jonathan Sims	"I've said I was sorry!" Jon protests. "It's just... I've shared a bed with him for years, that's what I'm /used/ to! I don't mean... I didn't..."     He pulls back a little, and frowns. "...You're teasing me, right? That's what this is, teasing me." He deliberately ruffles up her hair. "Hmph. I was /going/ to say I don't /mind/ that you have a hard time sleeping but now I won't."     After a moment, and softer, he says, "He said it himself, Cael. Your mind is not habitable to him. He cannot inhabit it. That implies a measure of protection. Did you feel /any/ of that... aura of his? The beatific 'peace and love' thing?"
Cael Becker	"It's when I stop teasing that you need to worry," Cael remarks, though she does roll her eyes and smooth her hair back down. "...you, though, are just the worst. All the time."     She smiles wryly as she adds, "You were fine, though, last night. Real patient with me, even when I started freaking out over- well. ...nothing. I appreciate that, you know. I mean, I don't always say it - but I do."     She finishes off her cocoa finally, then hands the mug off to Jon, since he'll have an easier time reaching the bedside table to set it aside. As she does, she muses over his words - and finally offers a small shake of her head. "I didn't," she admits. "I was so busy panicking about being in that tiny little office with him, alone, that I didn't- Never even occured to me to wonder.     "He couldn't seem to understand why I was so uneasy with that, you know. Why I couldn't simply relax in the knowledge that I was safe from him. What an ass."
Jonathan Sims	Jon reaches over to put the mug on the bedside table, then scoots around to sit against the head of the bed--or the wall, rather--and opens his arms to offer for Cael to come lie down next to him. "A lack of empathy. Is that because he's an angel, or because of whatever's wrong with him, I wonder? The others certainly seem to have empathy. Is he so wrapped up in his own pain and anger that he can't see the pain and fear of others, or does he just not have that... programming?"     He shakes his head. "I know you'll say the reason doesn't matter, because he's an ass either way, but one of them is fixable. The other... implies he really shouldn't be interacting with mortals all that much." He sighs.
Cael Becker	Cael doesn't need anymore invitation than that, and she repositions herself, so she's half lying down - and half resting on his chest, her arm wrapping around Jon loosely. Bear decides her wants in on this as well - and manages to insert himself between their legs - resting his head on Cael's hips, and looking up towards her with cocked ears.     "I'm not ever going to understand him, Jon - and I don't really want to," she says simply. "Do you honestly think it'd help to understand why that asshole decided to torture both of us? How he thinks that's justified and good?"     Her voice softens as she adds, "I'm a good person." She repented a long time ago - and that's supposed to matter. Isn't it?
Jonathan Sims	"I think I need to understand him in order to fix this, yes," Jon says softly, reaching up a hand to stroke Cael's hair. "I don't have to /agree/ with him, or /like/ him. But I do need to /understand/ him. Something about how he thinks is key to all of this, I'm certain."     He sighs and shakes his head. "What he thinks of you doesn't matter. It /doesn't/. You /are/ a good person, not least because you're /trying/ to be." He closes his eyes. "Fuck him, anyway."     After a moment, he says, almost in a whisper, "I would've gone down there and called him out if he'd hurt you, you know. If he'd tried to... to get back in your mind, or hurt you physically, under a flag of truce." His arm tightens around her, a little.
Cael Becker	"He follows his little rules, Jon. I wasn't in danger - and I knew that. I was terrified, but I //knew// I was safe." Cael lets out a frustrated sigh as she adds, "Emotions... and trauma can be so dumb sometimes, huh?"     With her head on his chest she could hear each word he spoke rumbling through his chest - and it makes her smile - just a little. That's expression sobers up as she adds, "When it is time for you to go to him... If you want, if he'll allow it, I'll go too, so at least you won't have to be alone."
Jonathan Sims	Jon doesn't respond right at first. Instead, his grip on her tightens a little more. Then he sobs, softly, tears running down his cheeks.     "Thank you," he manages. "I... I think I'd like that. For as far as you can. For as far as he'll let you." He laughs, ruefully. "However far that is."
Cael Becker	The sob makes her chest ache, and Cael squeezes him gently with that arm wrapped around his middle, a few tears leaping to her own arms. "If I can... I won't leave your side. I'd stay with you through it all,"s he promises in a whisper, even as the thought of watching Jon be tortured by her own tormentor makes her blood run cold.     But if it makes it easier for him? She'll find a way to endure it. They could endure it together. Right?
Jonathan Sims	"I... I don't know if I could have you... /there/. N-not... I don't..." Jon shakes his head, tears still dripping down his cheeks. "It would just hurt us both. I would just... feel /your/ pain, and that would make it worse. But up to the door? I... I don't know. I think I might need you to go back and... tell people some things. Make some plans. I don't..."     He sighs. "Michael's not going to kill me, during this, but I suspect my death will come not long after. There will be preparations to make."
Cael Becker	"Okay. Okay," Cael agrees. If truth be told - she was relieved. The thought of watching Jon get tortured while she was forced to simply stand by was horrifying to her - but she'd meant it. If it would have helped Jon to have her there? She would have done it. "Up to the door. I'll go as far as you'd like me to," she promises, her own tears falling, to dampen Jon's shirt.     "I don't know how much good I'll do in planning for any of this stuff - but I can deliver messages and intel, if you need me to. ...or I can wait there for your return. It's whatever you need. I'm here for you, Jon."
Jonathan Sims	"I know," Jon says softly. "I know. I appreciate it. I really do." He just sits there for a moment, letting his sobs subside. Every time he thinks he's all out of tears, he finds new ones to cry... and he knows, at least for him, this will only get worse after it all happens. Maybe for Cael and Martin and his friends it'll be better, because it'll be done and over with, but Jon? He's going to have to live with whatever Michael does to him, springing up behind his eyelids, for the rest of his life.     Assuming he makes it back from Duat, of course.     "Are... are you going to be okay? I... should get back down to Manhattan. There's a dozen things on my to-do list, and every time I check one off two more get added. But I'll join you here tonight. I promise."
Cael Becker	As his tears continue to fall, it's Cael's turn to wipe at his cheeks, tilting her head back to peer at his features. The movements are hesitant, and a bit awkward - but she's trying, out of genuine love and concern. Pushing herself off of his chest, she moves in to kiss one of those damp cheeks, before laying her head into place again.     At his question, she takes a deep breath in, letting it out slowly before she'll reply. "I'm gonna be okay," she promises. "This asshole's not going to crush me, okay? Not when I have you to support me. ...and Bear Bear, too. You're a good boy."     The pup slaps his tail on the bed in response, tongue lolling out.     She knows she should get up - let him to back to his work - but she doesn't, not yet. "One song before you go?" she asks.
Jonathan Sims	Jon relaxes, just a little, with the attention to his tears, however awkward it may be. He's so used to crying alone, suffering alone, with only Martin to turn to, that it's... surprising, to have someone else. And nice.     "Good," he manages. "Good. Just remember that. You're not alone."     He sighs, then, opens his eyes to peer at her. "Alright," he says softly. "I don't know how comforting my first thought is, but... if you want."     He shifts himself up a bit, so he's not slumped against the wall, takes a deep breath, and starts to sing. Hello, darkness, my old friend I've come to talk with you again Because a vision softly creeping Left its seeds while I was sleeping And the vision that was planted in my brain Still remains Within the sound of silence...